Machine for making ropes.



Patented lan. 28, |902.

T. W. NORMAN.

MACHINE FOR MAKING RUPES.

(Applieatio led In. 16', 1891.)

9 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

I z O .N w

Patented lan. 28, |902.

T. W. NORMAN'. MACHINE FOR MAKING BOPES.

s sheets-snm 2.

(Application lad Han. 1891.)

(No miam.)

N0. 69|,797. Patented lan. 28, |902.

T w NORMAN MACHINE FUR MAKING ROPES. (Application med am. 1e, 1am.)

9 Sheets-Shoot 3.

(No Model.)

N0. 69|,797. .Patented lan. 28, |902.

T. w. Mosman. MACHINE FUR MAKING ROBES.

(Appxmeion mea um. 1e, 1891.) v (Nu Model.)

9 Sheets-Sheet 4.

No. 69l,797.

` T. W. NORMAN.

MAGHINE FOR MAKING B UPES.

(No Model.)

(Application led Har. 16, 1891.)

Patented lan. 28, |902.

9 shfs-sheet 5.

Nn. 69|,797'. Parental! 1an; 2s, |902.

' T W NORMAN f MACHINE FUR MAKING RPES. (Application meri nu. 1e. 1891.)

9 Sheets-Sheet 6.

(No Model.)

No. 69u97. Patented 1an. 28, |902.

T. w. NORMAN.

MACHINE FOR MAKING ROPES.

(Application led Mar. 16, 1891.)

9 Sheets-Sheet 7.

(No Model.)

No. s9|,797. Patented 1an. 2a, |902.

T. w.. nonmAn.

MACHINE FUR MAKING RPES.

(Applicatiun tiled Mar. 16, 1891.) (No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 8.

No. 69|,797. Patented Jan. 28, |902.'

- T. w. NonMAN. l

MACHINE FDR MAKING BUPES.

(Application led Mar. 16, 1891) 9 Shets-Sheet 9.

' (.No Model.)

j .Fig. 2 isa-sectional elevation of the central UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS W. NORMAN, OF` BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MAKiNG ROPEs.

SPEOIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691,797, dated January as, 1902.

Applioationliled March 16,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, THOMAS W. NORMAN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in- Machines for Making Ropes, &c., of which the following is aspecification.

My invention has relation to machines for twisting textiles into yarns, strands, cords, and ropes, though parts ,of the contrivance may be employed in the formation of wire v cables and other manufactures, -while still other parts may be used in the exercise of the Y art of winding or spooling.

ings, and to the letters and other Vmarks of reference appearing theeomformingapart 'of this specification, the same letters andv marks designating the same parts or features, as the case may be, wherever they occur.

Of the said drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the forward part of the machine, which in the present instance is organized to twist or lay up the cords or yarns into strands.

part ofl the machine, which comprises the means 'for drawing down the stilands, twisting o r laying the same up into a cord or rope, and drawing down the vrope to be reeled or spooled. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation ofthe rearward end of the machine comprising the reeling or taking-up mechanism and its adjuncts. Fig. 4 is a front end elevation of the machine. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the improved means for guiding the cords or vstrands to a common center to enable the 1 vation of the gearing for operating the fliers.

Fig. 9 is a similar view of a portion of the gearing just inwardI from the gearing shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a plan and Fig. 11 is a side view of one form of pull-down in which 1891. sannita. 385,186. (Naumann three capstans are employed, the. outer capstans being held to operate upon the inner with a yielding pressure. Fig. 12 is a side and Fig. 13 is a plan view of another form of pull-down employing two capstans. Fig. 14 is a plan view of another form of pull-down employing two capstans, one of, which is positively driven, and the other, employed as a feed, is constructed as an idler. Fig. 15 is a perspective view-of the improved means for smoothing or laying thebeard of the cord or rope. Fig. 16 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the spooling means. Fig. 17 is a top plan View of the devices shown in Fig.'16.

Fig. 18 is a sectional detailtaken on the line 18 18 of Fig. 17. Fig. 19 is a sectional detail taken on the line 19 19 of Fig. 16. Fig. 2O is a perspective view of'theimproved spool complete, with the bale-binding cords inplace on the spool. Fig. 21 is a sectional .view through the barrel of the spool. Fig. 22 is a perspective View of one of the segmental staves forming a part of the barrel of the spool. Figs. 23 and 24 are details of modifiedl forms of means for laying the` rope upon the take-up spool.

- In the drawings, a, designates the frame'of the machine.

b is the main or driving shaft.

c c are pulleys on the main shaft for operation of the machine. K l' v d designates the spoolcarrying frames, which are journaled upon the shafts e fof the rotary hubs or disks g h, which are made to tak'e the place of the usual outside Hier.

To the .shaft b is aixed a gear i, which engages and drives gears j, one on each of the shaftsf. On the shaft b at the inner end ofthe dier-frame is a similar gear t', which meshes with and'drives gears similar to gears j on the shafts e or'connectedwith the disks or hubs g, so that the disks or hubs gh will be driven in unison.

In the hub or disk h is journaled a short shaft 7c, to one end of which is Vfixed a gear l, which meshes'with agear m, fixed upon the frame or bearing n of the shaftf. To

the other end of the shaft lo is aiixed a gear.

o, which engages a gear p on the hub of the spool-carrying frame or flier, which construction and arrangement of gearing secures the `rotation of the-spool-frame or inside flier in IOO ` this device is that when the screw s is turned out the spring t will act to cause the frictiondisk q to respond and release the tension correspondingly from the spool. Again, the spring when operated by screw s serves to hold the friction-disk against the end of the spool with a somewhat-yielding pressure.

Inl order to avoid abrading or breaking the cords or yarns in guiding the same to a common center to be laid up into a strand or rope by passing the same through holes in a disk or in contact with stationary surfaces, I employ the device which is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 5, which consists of a frame or head u, in which is journaled a series of pulleys c, two pulleys being employed for each cord or yarn and each of each pair of pulleys being arranged at anangle with respect to the other, so-that the pulley c receiving the.

yarn from the spool may be in such position as that the yarn will not run olf the same, but be guided to the second pulley, which is arranged in such position as to guide the yarn to a center common to all the other yarns, so that the same may be twisted or laid up into a rope or strand. This feature of the invention I regard as important, inasmuch as byit all liability of breaking yarns by reason of knots or bunches occurring therein is avoided, as also, as has been before stated, the abrading of the yarn is obviated, and in addition to this a more even tension upon the yarns comprising thc strand can be secured than though the same were passed over a stationary or rigid surface. After the yarns have been laid up into a strand, as described, they pass through a former w, (shown in Fig. 1,) which is composed of two parts similar -to a split tube, the parts being held together with a yielding pressure by means of springs` a; acting between the heads of thumb-screws y and the former, as shown.

I have provided the hubs or disk g h with pulleys z, arranged in their axes or shafts, around which the s trand from the spools is led, first from the before-mentioned adjusted pulleys@ and former w, through the shaftf, under the pulley z, thence over a pulley a' on the periphery of the disk or hub h, thence along under the antiballooning hoop b,thence over pulley o' in the periphery of the hub or disk g, thence around the pulley a in the shaft or axis of the hu`b g, and thence through the shaft e of said hub to the drawing-down device, to be presently described. This feature of providing the driving-shaft of the flier times.

lor disks g h with guiding-pulleys ,e in ntheir at its forward end, which is adapted to engage a stationary worm f', sustained in the frame a, concentric with the axis of rotation of said frame, so that as said frame d' revolves or is carried around the worm f by shaft e the worm-gear e will be rotated. Upon the shaft g' of the worm-gear e' is affixed a gear h', which engages a gear fi', affixed to a shaft upon which is secured a capstan j', around which the strand coming from the twisting mechanism is wound several Before being wound upon the capstan j the strand is wound around an idlercapstan 7c', which leads or guides it to the caps'tan j.

' With the means before described sufficient friction is produced upon the strands in their course around the capstans j' 7c to draw the said strands from the twisting mechanism or flier-frames under proper tension, and the strands are drawn down with a positive motion by the rotation of the capstan j through the medium of the worin f' and gears c' h'fi.

The gears hz" are made removable, so that .by varying their sizes the capstan'j may be rotated at a faster or slower speed, so as to` draw down the strands more or less rapidly, and providing forless or greater twist therein.

Instead of employing the drawing-down mechanism shown in Figs. 2 and 14, which has just been described, I may employ a drawing-down lmechanism of a slightlydierent form, as is shown in Figs. 10 and 11 and at the left in Fig. 2. In this instance the stationary worm f is employed as in the construction just hereinbefore described, and the frame d', provided with a worm-gear e', is revolved around the said worm in the same manner, the worm e' operating the gears h' t" to effect the rotation of .the shaft Z', upon which is affixed capstan m.

To the opposite end of the shaft Z is securedy a gear-wheel n', (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 11,) which meshes wit-h and operates similar gearsy o', secured to the shafts of capstans p .on the oppositesides of the capstan m'. The

shafts of the capstans p are journaled in frames or bars q', hinged at one end to the main frame d' and at their opposite ends held to bear the capstans p' upon the capstan m with ayielding pressure by means of IOO IIO

springs fr', interposed between the heads of screws s and the bars q', said screws s' being tapped at their inner ends into the main frame d', so that the cord or rope led from.

the filer-frame or from a previous pull-down may be wound around the capstan m' and be pressed thereon, so as to induce friction and accurate resu1ts,by means of the capstans p',

' constructed and arranged as before described;

and instead of employing the construction just described,` in which capstans p `are arranged on opposite sides of the capstans m', I may dispense with one of the capstans p' and employ but one of the latter, which in some instances will be sufficient to produce enough friction upon the rope wound upon the capstan m to draw down the same positively. This modified form of device last referred to is represented inFigs. l2 and 13. In all instances, however, I employ the stationary worm f and the rotary frame provided with capstans, one or more of which is positively driven by means of a wormgear e', engaged by the worm f', and which operates intermediate gears-to drive the positively-rotated capstan, as before described which ,gears may be interchangeable.

I have found in practice that the drawdown hereinbefore described is not only very eliicient. for the purpose for w-hich'itl isintended, but it is simplerfi-ndconstruction than any device designed to perform a similaifunction that is now known to me.

In the machineas; herein shown the strands after being drawn away from the twisting or iier framesoby the draw-down areV led to a former a". Before reaching the former or frame-tube t' the strands are led through a finishing or smoothing former u', in the present-instance consisting of a hollow-tube device of metal, porcelain, or other suitable material, as shown in Fig. 15, which tube is split or cut awayat one side and provided with a wedgev, inserted in such cutaway portion and having yielding or spring collars w' arranged on the ends of said tubes in order to hold the wedge in place-with a yield ing pressure, so as to permit .knotsor bunches which may vpossibly occur in the strands to pass through the tubes without obstruction and without creating undue tension upon the strands. The thimbles-or collars w', as herein shown, consist of split sections of a steel tube of suiiicient size to fit over the tubes u and wedge c. The object of the smoothing device j ust described is to lay or smooth down the harl or beard, as it is technically termed, of

the strands before the same are .laid up'into` a rope, as in making jute, sisal, or Manila rope.

The strands are twisted into a lrope at the frame-tube t' by means of a rotary pull-down, such as has been hereinbefor'e described,

Y which is operated by means of a gear on shaft b2, which gear as' engages and drives a gear y',

fixed upon the journal-shaft z' of'the said 1'0- -tary pull-down.

At the rear end of shaftb is a gear b3, (see Figs. 2 and 9,) meshing with a pinion b4, mounted to turn freelyI on a stud b5, secured to the frarne of the machine. This pinion b4 meshes with a" gcarb, secured to' the front end of shaft b2, which 1s thus driven by the shaft b. i

As herein shown', the rotary pull-down is constructed of a positively-operated capstan 7c. m', havingcapstans 1o bearing thereon on opposite sides of the iirst-mentioned capstan.

Before passing to the pull-down last described the rope is led through the former a", similar to the former w, before described, through which the laid-up yarns or cords pass from the spools. 1

The gear on driving-shaft b2 meshes with gear y', which rotates shaft z of Hier-frame e. From the pull-down device last men- 8o tioned the rope passes around pulleys 6,.0", and din the flier e and is wound in regular close layers upon the take-u p spool journaled in said ier. This part of my invention will next be described. l f designates a gear fixed to the innerend of a shaft g", (see Figs. 2, 3, and 7,)'which-4 gear is engaged and driven by the gear 00' on shaft b2. Upon the opposite end of shaft g" is a pulley h", frictionally attached to the 9o said shaft by means of disks Zf',bearing against the sides of its web with a yielding pressure by means of a spring j", interposed between the hub of the outer disk fi and a n-ut screwed uponthefend of shaft g". The hub of the inner disk is made fast to shaft g by means of a'set-pin, while the outer disk is held 'by a spline (not shown) in the hub of the disk and in the shaft and `near springj". Hence the two disks c'" will rotate positively-with shaft loo g, while thebearing or-web of pulley h" will slip frictionally between said disks i", according -to the requirements of the rope as it is wou nd on the take-up spool over pulley d". A belt lo connects the friction-pulley h" with a pulley Z" on the take-up-spool shaft' m". The said pulley Z" is connected with the spool-shaft by means of a pin in the latter en tering'a groove in thehub of the pulley Z", as shown, or itv may be by means of a spline and groove. s The pulley Z" is maintained in place upon the spool-shaft lm" by means of a catch-barnswung at its upper end upon the projecting end of a bracket o", connected with the frame a.- A thumb-screwp extends through a hole in the lower end of the catchbar 'n"and is tapped into the end of the take-` up-spool shaft m, so that the pulley Z" can readily be secured in place on the shaftim" lor released to permit `the withdrawal off the latter to an extent sufficient to disengag'e or` release the take-up spool. A disk q" on the projecting arm of bracket o" serves to pre-g y vent the pulley Z" from following the shaft m" when the latter is drawn outward, as `it l may be, by means of the handles 1'" thereon. The inner end of spool-shaft m" extends into the head'of the take-up spool and is engaged therewith by meansA of aspline m", Figs. 16 and 18, so that the spool may be rotated by the rotation of the shaft m". l 4,

It will be seen that the axis of the take-up spool and flier is the same-in other words,that the spool and. iier extend in the same parallel plane and revolve upon the same axis, in contradistinction to the arrangement of spools aud dier shown in Fig. l, where the axis of the spools is at a right angle to the axis of the spool-frame.

Itis to be noted that the pulley his smaller than the pulley Z, so that while the take-up spool will be rotated in the same direction as the lier e" is revolved it will be moved at a slower rate of speed, thisdift'erence in motion between the liier and take-up spool being established and employed for the purpose of winding the rope upon the spool. 4New if-the spool did not increase in diameter'as it fillsthat is, if at every rotation it took or wound up the same amount of rope-the spool could be driven at a fixed rate of speed with respect to the speed of the flier; but this is not the case, and as the rope is fed to thespool by the positively-operated cap'stan in the draw-down itbecomes necessary that as the spoolY fills its speed relatively to the speed of the Hier should be increased, and to effect a correct laying of the rope upon the spool the speed of the spool should be increased'only when the direction of movement of the rope-laying means is reversed to lay au additional series or course of layers on the spool, so that the speed of the spool relative to the speed of the flier will be uniform throughout each course of layers, but vary in the laying ot each successive course.

The tendency ofthe pulleys h" Z and belt 7a to rotate the take-up spool ataslower rate of speed than that at which the iier revolves serves simply as a drag upon the latter or` to put the spool under tension, the draft of the ropeon the spool being its actual rotating means, and hence the speed of the spool relatively tothe speed of the Hier will be governed bythe speed at which the rope is fed thereto whether the spool be nearly empty or nearly full. The slippage of the pulley h" between the friction-disks i" permits of this varying speed of the spool relatively to the speed of the iiier. f

The varyingof the speed of the spool in order to eect a proper take-up or winding on ofthe rope renders it necessary that the traverse ot the rope-laying device should vary accordingly in order that the rope may be wound upon `the spool in regular close layers or coils throughout. To secure this end I utilize the variation of the speed between the flier and spool to govern the traverse of the rope-laying device, so that when the flier revolves much faster than the spool the rope layer will be traversed comparatively fast, and when the speed of the spool relatively to the speed of Y the flier increases the traverse of the rope layer, or it may be of the spool where the rope layer is stationary, will be slowed down and, as before stated, the speed of the spool relatively to the speed of the Iiier is by my invention changed only at the time the direction of movement of the rope-laying device is changed to lay an additional course of layers on the spool, so that each course or series of layers will be wound upon the spool without any change in the speed of the latter relatively to the speed of the flier. This important feature of my invention I have accomplished by various means, certain only of which are shown herein.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 16 to 19, inclusive, s designates a screw-shat` t journaled in bearings inthe flier-frame e", which engages the rope-laying device t", guided by the bars u" fo. The rope-laying device carries the pulleys d" and w", the rope passing over the former and under the latter 'to the take-up spool. Upon the screw-shaft s are two bevelgears x" y'', the former being loose upon the said shaft and the latter rigidly secured there- These' gears are provided with hubs constructed as pulleys adapted to receive a belt z", passed thereover and over a 'pulley u/"lon shaftm" and connected to said shaft by spline fm, which also connects the take-up spool with the said shaft. The guide bar or roda is made hollow or constructed as a tube, in which is placed a rod b,'havingupturned ends which extend through slots c", the upturned end adjacent to the bevel-gears w"y" being connected with a collar cZ'", which collar is in turn connected witha fork or loop e'", which engages the belt z, as is most clearly shown in Figs. 17 and 18.

f" is a bevel-gear having a suitable bearp ing ina bracket of the iierframe and arranged tobe engaged by the bevel-gears Qd'y, so as to communicate the motion imparted from one to the other. i.

Supposing now that the belt e" is upon the pulley-hub of gear as show. in Fig. 16, the rotation of the take=up spool at a slower speed than the fiier e" to eect the winding on or taking up of the rope will communicate mot-ion to the screw-shaft S' through the medium of pulley a" and the gears f" y, so as to cause the laying device togtravel in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 16

at such speed or in such time (being regu' lated as before described) as to lay the rope in close layers on th e spool, Fig. 3, until the laying device comes in contact with, the upturned end b" of the rod in the guide-bara", when it will move the said rod in the direction of the said arrow, shipping the belt e from the pulley-hub ot' gear-wheel w" to the pulley-hub of the gear-wheel y", thereby reversing the direction of rotation of the said screw-shaft, it being driven directly by pulleys aff-y" and belt e", immediately increasing the speed of spool, the rope now traversing over its former layer and causing the laying. device totraverse in the direction ot' the arrow, l4`ig..l7, placing at a somewhat slower speed another layer of closely-wound rope on the spool until the traversing device reaches the collar d", when the belt a will be shipped back to its first position, the rotation of the screw-shaft be again reversed,

and the operation described above be repeated.

By the-means described the rate of traverse of the laying device will be governed wholly by the rate of'rotation of the take-u p spool as against the speedof the dier, so that the vlaying of the rope upon-the spoolin close layers will be'assured, 'whether-the ropebe laid of .operation explainedthe relative differential motion between the ier and the take-up spool and its shaft combined with the screwrod will always be maintained to `secure the laying up of the -rope in closeuniform coils undersu bstantially uniform tension, vwhether the ropel be laid upon the bare spodl-barrel or upon the next to the last layer of the bundle or spool of rope. Y p' Instead of employing a' single threaded screw-'shaft and reversing the rotation of the' same, as before described', I may employ a double-threadedshaft -h", Figs. 23 and 24, dispensing with the bevel-gears and the shipping of the belt z" and lead the said belt over va pulley 11" on the said shaft h", the wellknown crescent traveler being employed to engage the double thread of thescrewshaft and effect the traverse of the laying device. In this case also the speed 'of/the takenpspool with respect to the Hier e also governs the rat-e of travel of the laying device. When the bevel-gears and double pulleys Aare employed, I may use a be'lt-tightener, as "shown in Fig. 18, to keep the belt taut.

l shown,the belt-tightener consists of a pulley j'" on the end of a spring-pressed rod, having bearings Vin a small bracket/tm, the said pulley engaging the belt, so las to allow it to expand in being shipped from one pulley-hub to the other, shown on gears and y", and also' to keep the belt continually tight, thereby securing a perfect result in the laying-of levers Z", provided on their inner ends with.

rollers m", which extend just inside ofthe fianges or ends of the takeup spool, (see Figs.' 3 and 16,) springs nf" servingto keep the in- Aner ends-of said levers up into contact with or nearly into contact with the spool. vWith this construction and arrangementof parts when the spool becomes filled the layer or coil of rope `thereon will engage the rollers m'" and push the inner ends of the levers outward and their outer ends in the opposite direction, so as to ring a-bell or trip a stopping mechanisin, and thusenable the operative to remove the fullspool and replace it with an emptyon'e. i N

In Fig., 3 a-bell is represented at li", secured to the framein such. position that one end of the lever Z will strike-itwhen-theroller nt'" is pushed outward by the outer layer or coil of rope.y y

In order that the rope coiled upon the take- `up spool maybe removed therefrom and bundled and maintained in the form in vwhich it is wound upon the spool, I may form the latter lwith a collapsible barrel and with other features, as l will -.now proceed to explain.

0"' designates the flanges or spool-heads,the

A barrel or shank-between which is made up of a plurality of bars p'" having the form of a segment of a circle in cross-section. q'" is an iron rod `extending through` 'the barrel and screwed into the hub r'" of one spool-head and into a separatenut or hub s" of the other head, .therebyV forcing or drawing one spoolhead towar`d the other and against the ends of the bars p" andholding the latter in place. (See Figs. 16, 20, and 22.-) The nut or hub s'" is held in the ier-frame-by'a clasp 8"", as shown in Fig. lhthe hub ofthe other spool- `head being splined on the shaft m. (Also shown in Fig. 18.) A space may be left between each two bars 13 toadmit of a bind-4 v ing-rope being laid therein and in grooves in the inner faces of the heads of the take-up spool and madefast to cleats t' on the same, as shown in Figs. 20 and 21, so that when a spool becomes filled it may. be removed from the machine, the nut or'hub 3" turned off the rod qf, the flanges removed, and the sectional barrel of the spool allowed to collapse and be removed, the binding-rope having first been tied upon the rope on the spool to keep the coil in place.

Having thus'explained the nature of my invention and described a way of constructicc Iog

ing and using thel same,though without attempting to set forth all ofuthe forms of the invention, I declare that what Iclaiin is-' 1. The combination; with a plurality of spools and their supporting andfcarrying frame, of a guide for the yarns or cords drawn from the spools, consisting of a frame or head u connected with the spool-frame, pairs of pulleys-(one pair for each'of said yarns or cords) supported in -th'e frame u, one pulley of each pair being arranged ata distance from the center of its frame, and the other pulley of each pair being centrally arranged in its frame at an angle to the first-mentioned pul- -leyof each "pair, f 52.."The combination, with a plurality of spools and their supporting and carrying frame, of a guide for the yarns or cords drawn from the spools, consisting of a frame or head u connectedwith the spool-frame, pairs of pulleys, (one pair for each of said yarns or 3. A guide for yarns or cords in a rope-making machine consisting of aframe or head u,

pairs of pulleys (one for each yarn or cord) supported in the said frame, one pulley of each pair being arranged ata distance from the center of the frame, and the other pulley of each pair being centrally arranged in the frame at anangle to the iirst-mentioned pulley of each pair.

4:. The combination, with the rotary spoolcarrying fralne or flier, of a guide for the yarns or cords and a laying-head or former at one end of and within the flier, the latter being provided with a hollow shaft beyond the inner end of which the yarn-guide and former are locatedas described, and the rotary disks g h, having hollow shafts or hubs, and located beyond the ends of the iiier and provided with the pulleys s' z and ct' c arranged and operating substantially as shown and described, and gearing for operating the Hier and disks. Y 5. A pull-down consisting-of a revolving frame, astationary Worm around which the frame revolves, said worm being arranged to extend on a line concentric with the axis of rotation of the frame; a worm-gear e carried by the frame, engaging said Worm, and revoluble around .the same; arotary capstan m', and operative gearing connecting the same with the Worm gear; a capstan p' arranged to bear upon the capstan fm' with a yielding pressure, as described; and oper-V j ative gearing intermediatefof the capstans m' 6. The combination with the take-.up spoo and hier, of the spring-pressed levers Z" supported by the flier and provided with rollers m" which extend inside of the flanges of the take-up spool, and an alarm adapted to be operated by the said levers when the rollers are pressed outward, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 10th day of March, A. D. 1891.

THOMAS W. NORMAN.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR W. CRossLEY, C. F. BROWN. 

